volunteer - opportunities for youth
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old to work on the construction site but there are lots of other ways kids and teens can help. Download a waiver for minors form (pdf).
Here are ideas for your church youth group, scout troop, 4-H group, school class, family, and others. All you need is an adult leader to organize and manage your project. Check in with a staff member before you begin.
Off Site Activities
- Decorate studs with blessings or messages to the partner family.
- Stuff envelopes for mailings.
- Create a puppet show, lead a craft, or read stories to children at the Habitat Community House.
- Build birdhouses, window flower boxes, key chains, or simple picture frames out of scraps from the construction worksite.
- Serve lunch or snacks to volunteers and partner family members at the work site.
- Spruce up items donated to the Home Stores with a new paint job.
With The Partner Family
- Gather house warming items (cleaning supplies, household items, etc.) in a basket and present it to the partner family at their house dedication.
- Decorate pots and fill them with plants, to be given to the partner family at the house dedication.
- Create a quilt as a housewarming gift for a partner family, to sell at the Home Store, or to use for a raffle or silent auction.
- Make stepping stones or a bird feeder for the partner family.
- Sing a song and play music at a home dedication ceremony.
Fundraising
- Host a craft fair or silent auction for items that you make.
- Organize a bike-a-thon or a car wash.
- Build birdhouses, mailboxes, flower boxes or picture frames from scraps collected from the construction site and sell them at the Home Stores or at a street fair. Label each item with the young person's name, age and organization they are with.
- Make gingerbread houses or birdhouses, put them on display with jars, and ask people to donate money to their favorite ones.
- Sell homemade pizzas.
- Construct small houses with slots in the top and collect change at school or at church.
- Challenge a school to collect pennies for Habitat and hold an assembly for each grade to present their pennies. The group with the most can get a prize (like a pizza party or extra time at recess).
- Provide Legos to individuals or groups and ask them to build a house. Display them at the Home Stores or other location and invite people to vote on their favorites by putting money in jars in front of each house.
- Collect quarters on the backs of adhesive floor tiles.
- Camp out in refrigerator boxes and enlist sponsors.
- Organize a storytelling fest or a talent show.